While Maksim Chmerkovskiy was in Ukraine posting updates for the people of the world, his wife, Peta Murgatroyd, was at home in America.
Maks and Peta are both American citizens and have a child.
The longer that Maks was in Ukraine, the more dangerous things became. Luckily, Maks got out of Ukraine on a train and made it home to his wife and kid.
Peta talks about Maksim returning home
Last Wednesday, Maksim, 42, boarded a plane and flew back to Los Angeles, where he had his long-awaited reunion with Peta, 35.
Peta took to Instagram to let her friends and fans know how she was feeling with her husband finally safe and back home.
“I never thought our family would be directly affected by this in our lifetime, I never thought what we are seeing on our TV’s was a reality in 2022,” Peta wrote. “I have never hugged him so tight. Shaking and forever grateful.”
“Now it’s time to heal. We cannot go back to our normal. Our lives are forever changed. We have a new normal, and that’s ok.”
While Maksim is back home, Peta assures people that they have not put Ukraine behind them. They continue to support the country in their own way against what she called “Putin’s War.”
“This DOES NOT mean we aren’t continuing our efforts to assist the Ukrainian refugees. We have big plans in store, and our sole focus is on this war.”
Maksim’s ordeal in Ukraine
Maks was in Ukraine as a judge on that country’s version of Dancing with the Stars, a show that the country’s current president actually won in its inaugural season.
Maks explained at the time that he did not leave before the war because people he trusted assured him the war was unlikely.
Once it started, Maks was trapped there, with people telling him the road to the border was more dangerous than staying in the city.
While there, Maks posted many photos and videos letting people know what was going on in Ukraine as someone on the ground, bringing harsh truth to what many people feared.
However, after being arrested for breaking curfew, he realized he needed to return to his wife and child.
He boarded a train packed with women and children and fled the country before catching his plane back home.
Dancing with the Stars is on hiatus. The dancing reality competition series should return to ABC in late 2022.